First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina

1. Caspar Strûbel, son of Johann Caspar Strubel and Anna Elisabeth Mathias, was baptized on 29 May 1718 in Lampertheim, Hessen, Germany.1 He arrived in South Carolina prior to 1737, when he received a land grant for 100 acres (indicating two persons in his household) in Granville County.2

Strubel was described by his grandson, Maj. John Strobel, as an Indian trader:

“For several years he carried on a traffic with the Indians. He with several others formed a company and would take goods on pack horses on many days journey and trade goods and hides, raw and dressed, and would bring them back to Augusta, Ga. They generally packed some fifteen or twenty horses for each individual to attend to. On one occasion, on their return trip, they were robbed of all their ammunitions and had to live fourteen days on raw deer skins.”

Casper Strobel’s wife is usually identified as Otey or Ottie Brenner or Bruner. It is likely that her name was originally Ottilia Bruner. “Ottilia” was a common first name in Germany at this time. A contemporaneous Bruner family is documented in the same area where Caspar Strûbel settled.3 The marriage was possibly quite late. No children are documented for Casper and Otey until 1757. However, an earlier child – whether with Otey or an earlier wife – is documented by a 5 Dec 1755 petition, in which Strobel requests a grant of an additional 100 acres of land for a child and an indentured servant [research note a]. 4

Casper Strobel’s property was in the New Windsor Township, and was adjacent property owned by well-known Indian trader George Galphin.5 “Ubrick Tobler” [Ulrich Töbler], son of an earlier Orangeburg settler, was also an adjacent landowner.

In 1769 “Casper Strubell” was the object of a suit filed by John Joachim Zubly and John Jacob Strutzenegger.6 Zubly and Strutzenegger had loaned Strobel the large sum of £1016, and had sued to recover it. This, along with a desire to live closer to his sister Catherine Elizabeth Strobel Carn, might have encouraged Strobel’s subsequent relocation to the Four Holes vicinity. In 1769 Gasper Strubel filed a plat for 150 acres on Four Hole Swamp, adjacent Christian Riddlesperger (another person with New Windsor associations).7

It was reported by his grandson, Maj. John Strobel, that Casper Strobel was imprisoned by the British during the Revolution. He died a prisoner in the cellar of the Exchange Building on 11 Oct 1781, and was buried the next day in the churchyard of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Charleston.8

Children of Casper Strobel and Otey Bruner were:

2.i.Frederick Strobel, b. ca 1757 and d. ca 1780.9

3.ii.Albert Strobel, b. ca 176010 and d. 10 Nov 183511

4.iii.Daniel Strobel b 21 Aug 1766 and d. 26 Feb 1827.12

5.iv.Mary b ca 1769 and d. 4 Oct 1834.

6.v.Elizabeth, b ca 1771

Second Generation

2. Frederick Strobel was born in about 1757 at New Windsor Township, SC, and died in about 1780 in South Carolina.13

3. Albert Strobel was born in about 176014 and died 10 Nov 1835. 11He married Elizabeth Bowman, the daughter of Jacob Bowman and Catherine Carn (daughter of Lewis J. Carn and Catharine Elizabeth Strobel Carn). 13

4. Daniel Strobel was born 21 Aug 1766 and died on 26 Feb 1827.15 He married Elizabeth Aberly, who was born 5 Apr 1761 and died 21 Dec 1835.15 She was the daughter of Hans Aberly and Anne Maria Long. Daniel and Elizabeth Strobel are the only known burials at the Spring Branch Cemetery near Rosinville, Dorchester County, SC.

6. Elizabeth Strobel was born in about 1771 at New Windsor Township, SC. The Crawleys identify her as the wife of Christian Rumph.16 However, this has not been proven and sources citing Elizabeth Hughes, daughter of Caleb Hughes, as wife of Christian Rumph are more credible. Among other things, the Rumphs named a son Caleb.

The Lewis J. Carn and Catherine Elizabeth Strubel Carn Family

1. Catherina Elisabetha Strûbel [Strobel] of Lampertheim, Hessen, Germany was born in 172517 and confirmed in Lampertheim in 1737 at the age of 12. She was a child of Johann Caspar Strûbel and Anna Elizabeth Mathias.18 She married Lewis J. Carn and immigrated to South Carolina as Catherine Carn.

The Lewis Carn and Catharine Strobel Carn family (including their ten children) is discussed in detail in the Carn First Family biography.

The Captain Daniel Strobel Family

1. Daniel Strobel was baptized 4 Jan 1735 in Lampertheim, Hessen, Germany,18 and died 7 Dec 1806 in South Carolina.19 He arrived in South Carolina in 1752 on the Cunliffe , accompanying his sister and other relatives.20 A detailed history of the life of Capt. Daniel Strobel is provided in the 2004 publication From Lampertheim to South Carolina. 21 He was a successful merchant who owned a tannery, and he was a civic and religious leader within the German community in South Carolina.

Upon arriving in South Carolina in 1752, Daniel “Struble” petitioned for a 50 acre grant.22 In 1757 he filed a plat for a 100 grant in Amelia Township,23 which was granted on 8 May 1758.24

Daniel Strobel married twice. His first wife was Mary Magdalene LNU; they are believed to have married in 1757 or early 1758, and they had two children. Daniel Strobel does not seem to have been living in Charleston at this time.25 He might have lived at the location of his Amelia Township land grant. However, by 29 Mar 1765, he was in Charleston, where the death of the Strobel’s son Daniel was recorded in the records of St. John’s Lutheran Church, giving his precise age so that his birthdate could be set at 27 Jan 1762.26 A daughter, Elizabeth, was also born to this couple in 1758. Maria Magdalena Strobel died in 1766.

On 10 Dec 1765 Daniel Strobel remarried, to Maria Elisabetha Martin, daughter of the Rev. John Nicholas Martin, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church.26 The couple had twelve children.

By 1756 Strobel was a member of the Colleton County militia.27 He was in the militia units serving at the Congarees and as far inland as Fort Prince George in the Cherokee Wars.28 During the Revolution Daniel Strobel became a member of the German Fusiliers and served as a lieutenant in that unit during 1779, especially at the siege of Savannah.29

Daniel Strobel was very active in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Charleston, the parent church of the denomination in South Carolina. His involvement there is first recorded when he was one of those paying off the debt incurred in building the first church structure.30 He became a vestry member, and also served as president of that body. 31

In 1792 Daniel Strobel was a member of the Charleston City Council.32 However, his best known civic involvement was a founder of the German Friendly Society, which survives today.33

The Charleston Courier reported that “Died suddenly, on Sunday morning Daniel Strobel, sen. A native of Germany; in the 73d year of his age, and 55th of his residence in South-Carolina.”34

Mary Elisabeth Martin Strobel died 7 Aug 1807, outliving her husband by less than a year. The Charleston City Gazette reported “Died, on the 7th inst. After a painful illness of several weeks, during which time she manifested that resignation which a pious mind alone is capable of exhibiting, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Strobel, the amiable relict of Mr. Daniel Strobel, sen., in the 61st year of her age.”35

The children of Daniel Strobel, Sr., and Maria Magdalena LNU were:

2.i.Daniel Strobel, Jr., b. 1768 in Charleston, SC

3.ii.Jacob Strobel, b. 1869 in Charleston , SC

The children of Daniel Strobel, Sr., and Maria Elisabetha Martin were:36

4.i.Daniel Strobel, Jr., b. 1768 in Charleston, SC

5.ii.Jacob Strobel, b. 1769 in Charleston , SC

6.iii.Maria Elizabeth Strobel b. 1771 in Charleston, SC

7 iv.Maria Magdalena Strobel b 1773 in Charleston, SC

8.v.John Strobel, b. ca 1775 in Charleston, SC

9.vi.Philip Strobel, b. 1777 in Charleston, SC

10.vii.Ludwig Strobel, b 1779 in Charleston, SC

11.viii.Ludwig V. Strobel, b. 1782 in Charleston, SC

12.ix.Benjamin Strobel, b. 1786 in Charleston, SC

13.x.Martin Strobel, b 1786 in Charleston, SC

14.xi.Elizabeth Strobel, b. ca 1790 in Charleston, SC

15.xii.Louisa Constantia Strobel, b. 1787 in Charleston, SC

Second Generation

See the Daniel Strobel history by the Cawleys for further information on this family.

The Frederick Strobel Family

1. Frederick Strobel was born in about 1717 in Germany.37 He died in May 1764 in Charleston, SC.38

Frederick petitioned the South Carolina Council on 1 Apr 1755, saying that he had been in the colony for thirteen years and that he initially found work in town and needed no land.39 He reported that he subsequently returned to Germany and brought with him back to South Carolina “a great number of Protestant immigrants.” This was presumably the Cunliffe group; Frederick Strobel was probably the primary organizer for much or all of this important immigration into Orangeburg. Frederick said that he had a wife and three children and was petitioning for 250 acres of land for himself and his family. His petition for land and bounty was approved.

On 2 Sep 1755 Frederick Stroble petitioned for a bounty payment for his father-in-law, Nicholas Weaver, who had come to South Carolina several years earlier with several children.40 Nicholas “Weaver”, his wife and son Nicholas, age 20, were among the Cunliffe passengers, along with George Weaber and John Weaber with a wife and five year old daughter Joanna.41

The St. Philips Parish Register in Charleston recorded the birth of Elizabeth Strubel on 15 Feb 1746 to Frederick and Elizabeth [Weaber] Strubel. Elizabeth was privately baptized on 1 Mar 1746.42 However, daughter Mary Catharina was baptized on 26 Sep 1756 by Rev. John Giessendanner in Orangeburgh, with Lewis and Catharina Elizabeth Kern and Anna Mary, wife of Nicholas Waber, Sen., (mother of Frederick’s wife) as baptismal sponsors.43

In 1756 Frederick “Strouble” filed a plat for 250 acres in Granville County on Stephens Creek.44 A subsequent grant was for only 150 acres of land in that location.45 Stevens or Stephens Creek is near the New Windsor settlement where Caspar Strubel lived until his move to the Four Holes area.

However, Frederick Strubel seems to have continued to live and work primarily in Charleston. He is mentioned as a subcontractor in a history of St. Michael’s Church in 1758-60, doing a great deal of both interior and exterior construction work.46

Frederick Strobel died between 2 May 1764 and 12 May 1764, leaving three daughters and two sons as well as a wife, Mary. Apparently his first wife, Elizabeth, was deceased and he remarried. Daniel Strobel, Alexander Carmack, and Felix Long [Lang]47 were appraisers of his estate.48

The children of Frederick and Elizabeth Strobel were:49

2.i.John Strobel, b. ca 1740

3.ii.William Strobel, b. 1743 (but see note below)

4.iii.Elizabeth Strobel b. 15 Feb 174650

5 iv.Maria Catherina Strobel, b. 15 Aug 1756.51

6.v.Judith Strobel, b. ca 1758 (but see note below)

Second Generation

2. John Strobel was born in about 1740. He married Maria Margaretha, whose surname may have been Schram.49 The births of his seven children are documented in the records of St. John’s Lutheran Church.52

3. William Strobel was born in about 1743 according to the Cawleys.49 No confirmation of this individual and his birthdate has been found.

4. Elizabeth Strobel was born on 15 Feb 1746 in Charleston53 and baptized 1 Mar 1746 at St. Philip’s Church. 54 The Cawleys report that she married John Morgandollar,49 but this appears to be incorrect, since Elizabeth Morgandollar’s age at her death on 23 Nov 1808 was 53, indicating a birth year of about 1755.55 Also, Elizabeth Morgandollar’s maiden name is sometimes given as Strobler, a distinct surname. This Elizabeth Strobel, daughter of Frederick, married her cousin, Philip Carn, son of Lewis and Catherine Elizabeth Carn.

5. Maria Catherina Strobel was born on 15 Aug 1756 and baptized by Rev. John Giessendanner on 27 Sep 1756.56 Sponsors at her baptism were “Lewis and Catharina Elizabeth Kern and Anne Mary, wife of Nicholas Waber Sen.” The Cawleys identify her husband as Richard Broughton [son of Andrew Broughton II and Ann Singleton, from a wealthy and politically active family].49 Some on-line sources identify Catherine Strobel who married Richard Broughton as a daughter of John Jacob Strobel. However, evidence appears very weak. The Jacob Strobel who appears in South Carolina records was closely associated with Daniel Strobel and Daniel’s son John, and was probably Daniel Strobel’s son of that name.57 That Jacob Strobel could not have been her father. It was Frederick’s daughter Maria Catherina who married Richard Broughton.

6. Judith Strobel was born in about 1758 according to the Cawleys.149 No confirmation has been found.

17 There is no record of the birthdate or baptism of Catherina Elizabetha Strûbel in the Lampertheim Churchbook. Her birth year is estimated from the year of her confirmation, 1737, at age 12. The date of 24 Jun that frequently appears for her birth is apparently a result of erroneously conflating Catherina Elizabetha with her sister Agnes, who was born three years later.

47 Felix Long was in business with a Daniel Strobel. They owned land jointly in St. Mark’s Parish. Susan Smythe Bennett. (The McCords of South Carolina. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine Vol. 34(4) Oct 1933. P.183.) Felix Long was also identified as brother-in-law of John Aberly in his will (Charleston Will Book 1767-1771: Page 23). John Aberly was the father of Elizabeth Aberly, who married Daniel Strobel, son of Caspar Strobel and Otey Bruner.